


Finding Phobias

by VeggieGuru



Category: Monster Prom (Visual Novel)
Genre: Gen, No Romance, So do Polly and the others, So join them on their mission!!!, Some death, Sorry Scott isn't in it more, Story about Oz, Wanna figure out what it means to be made of fear?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-01
Updated: 2018-08-01
Packaged: 2019-06-19 21:48:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15519315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VeggieGuru/pseuds/VeggieGuru
Summary: What exactly does it mean to be made of fear? Polly, Vera, Damien, Liam, and Miranda want to find out and are ready to do what it takes to get answers. Oz is a good friend, but they don't know much about Oz's life outside of school--when they take it into their own hands to investigate, their discoveries were a little unexpected...





	Finding Phobias

Anyone at the high school knew that Oz was a bit of shy guy who liked his space, though he was fun to be around all the same. He was surprisingly mild-tempered for someone who was the manifestation of fear itself—one would think he would either be perpetually terrified or power-hungry with inflicting terror on others.

            Neither of those descriptions fit Oz. In fact, even to the other monsters at school, it was a bit of a mystery what Oz was. What did it mean to be the embodiment of fear?

            “How am I supposed to know?” Damien said with a scoff, the rowdy demon getting bored with all this gossip. Polly looked over at him with a frown, leaning against the lunch table.

            “Well, what do you think, Liam?” she asked expectantly, turning to the vampire.

            He looked a bit taken aback, not really sure what the answer was. He turned back to his phone as an escape route. “Don’t bother me with such insignificance when I’m trying to Instagram my food.”

            “Ugh,” Polly grunted with disdain. “Aren’t you at least curious? He hardly ever hangs out with anyone after school, so what is he up to…?”

            “You DO know that some people like to be alone, right?” Liam said with disinterest.

            “If you wanna know so bad, why don’t you just go ask him!” Damien growled with his usual aggressive undertone.

            “Or do the obvious solution and research it,” Liam chimed in, rolling his eyes.

            “You guys are no fun…” Polly eyed Oz across the lunchroom, getting his lunch tray.

            “Fun, you say?” a familiar honeyed voice reached their ears and they turned to see Vera. No doubt she had eavesdropped on their young discussion. She took a seat across from them and glanced longways before continuing, “I say we tail him.”

            “What would giving him a tail do?” Scott asked, stopping at hearing such an odd thing to say.

            Liam looked exhausted at the stupidity surrounding him, distracting him from the perfect photo. “She means _spy_ , you imbecile.”

            Vera smirked. “That’s right.”

            “Spy? But isn’t spying bad?” Scott asked, staring into the unknown as he wracked his brains, trying to remember.

            “You know what’s bad?” Vera countered. “Not listening to your teachers. And didn’t coach tell you to go run thirty laps around the school?”

            “He did?!”

            “You’d better hurry up before he catches you being lazy.” Vera knew that not only would Scott hinder their plan if he joined them, but there was no doubt he would blow their cover before it even began.

            Polly raised an eyebrow suspiciously at Vera after watching Scott run off. “Why are _you_ interested in this?”

            “Blackmail. Duh.” Damien huffed. “No one knows anything about Oz, so how is she gonna con him?”

            The gorgon’s face fell with annoyance. “Can’t a girl take credit for just wanting to get to know a guy...? Not that you’re wrong,” she added with a smirk.

            “Why don’t you just hire someone?” a sing-song voice chimed in, and suddenly Miranda was seated at their table.

            “Hire someone? That would give them a chance to blackmail _us_ to get the information, let alone the risk of lies,” Vera sneered at the amateur.

            The mermaid princess seemed unaffected by such hostility. “No one would ever do that to the royal family,” she said with an innocent laugh, to which the others ignored—they’d spent too long in too many situations to try and reveal the ways of the true world to her, to no avail, so now was not time for another attempt.

            “Well, I like Vera’s idea,” Polly said with a bit of excitement, looking at the others for consensus. Damien looked back at her, unimpressed.

            “Interesting…” Liam pondered aloud, seeming to have ignored the conversation thus far and keeping his focus on his phone. “I can’t find a single article—not even a mention—of any monster comprised solely of fear.” He looked up at the others, a bit baffled. “Meaning, Oz is technically an undocumented monster.”

            “Does that mean you’re in?” the ghost inquired with hope.

            “Well, I will say espionage is rather mainstream,” he answered, giving a blasé look towards Vera, “but documenting a newly discovered species? A chance like that doesn’t come often!”

            “Man, you guys are lame…” Damien groaned, getting up to leave.

            “I bet…” Polly had to think fast. “…you just don’t have the skills.”

            “Skills?” he spat back. “What are you trying to say?”

            “Sure, you can beat people up, but I bet you have no tactical skill whatsoever,” she said with a careless shrug, to which Damien furrowed his brow. “I bet you don’t know a thing about flanking, Parthian, circumvallation…”

            “Hey, don’t bring up that Jewish/Catholic stuff with me,” he said bluntly, making her raise an eyebrow in confusion.

            “Damien, it’s not _just_ Jewish or Catholic, and it’s not ‘circumvallation,’ it’s called circum—never mind,” Liam said, shaking his head. Sometimes he wondered why he even tried.

            Damien eyed them. “Fine. You tell me when and where and you bet your pathetic asses I’ll fucking be there.”

            A glare shot from Vera. “I know you’re not referring to me.”

            “Yeah, our asses are amazing!” Polly argued.

            “Yeah!” Miranda chimed in.

            “Including Liam!”

            “Yes, yes—wait, what?” He looked around at them, a tad bit of embarrassment showing.

            “Whatever, losers,” Damien said, turning around and walking off. “And don’t you dare start without me!”

            “Alright!” Polly cheered. She had successfully gathered a group to figure out the Oz mystery. She was totally going to do a mountain of coke before they went.

            “Polly, how did you know about all those military tactics…?” Vera questioned suspiciously.

            A wistful look overcame her. “A military ambush was how I died,” she explained. “I made sure to learn about them so it wouldn’t happen again, but I realized I was already dead so it didn’t really matter.”

            “Oh, that second part is so tragic…” Miranda sympathized.

            Liam stifled an exasperated sigh, wondering if he was going to regret this decision.

 

 

“Liam, what are you _wearing_?” Polly said with confusion as they stood behind the school restrooms, looking over his odd pitch-black attire. School was just ending—they had all left early to get ready and meet back up to follow Oz once classes were out. It was just getting dark, perfect for their clothing to blend in.

            “What?!” he defended. “It’s an authentic Japanese ninja uniform!” Polly frowned at such a disappointing answer.

            “I thought you were cool.”

            “These clothes are perfect for undercover work like this,” he said with a huff, crossing his arms, pen and journal in-hand. “Besides, you’re wearing black sweats and a hoodie—and a ski mask! You look like a burglar!”

            “Well, of course, I don’t want him to know who I am if he DOES see us!”

            “I’m here—Liam, what’s with the outfit?” Damien grimaced. “Man, why do you have to be so fucking lame…”

            Liam clenched his teeth. “This is a vintage 15th century piece!”

            “Yeah, whatever, still doesn’t make it any cooler.”

            “If anything, it makes it _less_ cool…” Polly threw in.

            “‘Cool’ is too mainstream for my taste,” Liam said in a bored tone, ready to put an end to their criticism—or his part in this altogether.

            “So, you guys made it,” Vera greeted as she walked out from the shadows and into the moonlight, giving everyone’s outfits a quick once-over. “Damien, why are you in your regular clothes?”

            The demon looked at her, appalled. “Are you serious?! You’re wearing a leather jumpsuit and heeled boots!”

            She looked back at him with disgust. “Of course I am, what do you think professional spies wear?”

            “You’re fucking kidding me.”

            “Hello, all!” Miranda announced her arrival. The group looked over to see two mermen carrying a small caravan with black curtains, through which the princess was looking out of. “I really should be getting my beauty rest, so I decided to have my servants carry this futon so I could still be present at our event.” She sounded very proud of her magnificent idea. “Don’t worry, it has curtains, so Oz won’t be able to see me, and I’ll be able to sleep soundly if things proceed to late.”

            Vera’s nails were digging into her palms irately. “Get out of that thing or go home,” she seethed.

            “What?!” she responded in a hurt tone.

            “Your stupid servants weren’t invited,” Damien shot. “That’s pretty damn rude of them to show up, so they can go to hell!”

            The two mermen looked uneasily at each other, not sure if the impulsive demon was going to act upon those words.

            “But—”

            “NO.”

            “Hmph…” Miranda pouted and stepped out once her servants lowered her futon. “I guess you can just wait for me until I return,” she ordered them, standing in a nightgown and slippers. “This is really no way for a princess to be seen, especially by the commoners!”

            The others ignored her.

            “Okay, so what’s the plan?” Damien asked.

            “Polly, were you able to plant that tracking device I gave you?” Vera asked.

            “Sure thing!” she answered with a wink and a salute. She had easily attached it to the collar of Oz’s overshirt without him feeling it, or his little phobia friends noticing. Liam raised his eyebrows.

            “I’m surprised you were all able to think ahead. That’s actually a good start, although a little cliché…”

            Vera pulled a palm-sized device out of her pocket, the gridded screen showing a repeatedly blinking green dot.

            “Wow, it has pockets?!” Miranda admired the gorgon’s suit. “What brand is it?”

            “Yeah, I’d like to know,” Damien inserted, gaining him a few odd looks. “What?!” he yelled defensively.

            “Let’s…just follow Oz, okay?” Liam tried to get everyone’s minds back on their mission. “Which way does it say to go?”

            “It looks like he’s going…to the human city…” Vera said, narrowing her eyes suspiciously while the others looked back and forth with a bit of confusion.

            “Why would he want to go there…?”

 

 

Oz continued down the sidewalk, hands in his pockets and looking at his feet as he strolled along the side of a park. The lake was glistening silver, ripples creating little stellar rings exploding across space. No humans around. No monsters around. Nighttime was so peaceful. Well, for now.

            From time to time a car would pass by, illuminating the areas untouched by the streetlights. Oz would rather spend his time on the outskirts of town than in the heart of the city—it was harder to stay unspotted when there were so many people around. Granted, alleyways exist, but that wasn’t really his ideal scene. No, he preferred much more scenic and idyllic places.

            The little shadow-like phobias climbing around him were suddenly excited, trying to get his attention. Oz looked up to see a human—a man in a long coat and hat, specifically—some ways ahead, seeming to also be taking a tranquil night stroll. Upon the man’s shoulder was a shadowy creature like the ones accompanying Oz, a lingering phobia clawing at the back of the human’s mind. It made Oz feel sad, seeing that poor phobia stuck with a human, unable to have any personality or freedom. Unlike the ones Oz had accumulated, other monsters couldn’t see phobias—on humans or each other—so being a phobia meant not really being able to interact with anyone. Being able to see them was something that Oz gained on behalf of being comprised of fear itself.

            As they approached each other, Oz could begin to tell what the phobia was. _Ah, I see. This human is trying to get over his fears,_ he speculated, seeing that the fear was of being attacked in the dark—murdered, precisely. Goodness, and by someone breaking his neck?! Creeping up behind him, slinking closer, without him ever having a clue, and then _snap!_ That was such an unlikely thing to happen—which Oz guessed was a logical reason to try to get over it. The phobia had such a cute personality, too, it was a shame to know it was going to die once that man conquered his fear…

            “Good evening,” Oz said pleasantly as they passed each other, meeting the human’s eyes for a split moment before looking at the phobia.

            The man tipped his hat at him, greeting him back, not disgruntled by Oz’s appearance at all. Well, at least, how he appeared to humans. Fear itself wasn’t scary, so he didn’t appear scary. But humans knew fear as a human perception, and monsters only knew fear from a monstrous perception. As such, monsters saw him as a monster that was the opposite of scary—a concept taking shape, no features threatening. Humans saw him as a human that was the opposite of scary—a normal human with pleasant features, a kind smile and welcoming expression.

            Oz couldn’t help but look over his shoulder at the little being perched on the man as they walked their separate ways.

 

 

“I’m scared!” Miranda whimpered as they tiptoed behind trees and bushes, Polly merely phasing through them, all constantly wary of any presence of a human that may appear. “Haven’t you seen what they do to demons in the movies, Damien?”

            “Ugh, just shut up!” he replied, although the anger in his voice was actually to mask his anxiousness.

            “Are you sure this is the right way?” Liam asked.

            “Of course I am!” Vera retorted. “If the radar says he was at this park, he was at this park.”

            Polly bit her cheek. “I could understand if maybe he was sneaking into a party or something, but this is pretty boring, boo.”

            “ACK!” Liam suddenly dropped his book and flattened his hands over his ears, doubling over. “What’s that awful noise?!”

            “Keep your voice down!” Vera hissed, but stopped in her tracks when she began hearing it in the distance as well.

            “Those cop sirens sound like they’re getting closer!” Polly warned.

            Miranda whimpered. “The police?! What do we do?!”

            “Stay calm and hide,” Vera ordered, the red and blue flashing lights slowly filling their vision.

            “Fuck that!” Damien yelled. “You can’t escape the cops by HIDING!”

            The panic between them was making them frantic.

            “Don’t worry!” Polly assured. “I’ll just show them my boobs and—”

            “These are _humans_ , you idiot!”

            “Oh, right…”

            “I’ll just beat the shit out of them,” Damien said, stepping forward.

            “Don’t you _dare_! You know how much trouble we could get in?!”

            Their eyes widened as the lights blazed in front of them and the sirens ceased, and they quickly dove for cover. Vera pulled Liam down into the bushes with her, while Miranda made a quick jump for the lake and Damien pressed himself up against a tree. Polly peeked out from inside the trunk to see what was going on. Two police cars were parked, and a couple officers were talking to two young women—they seemed pretty interrogative.

            Maybe because there was a limp body on the ground.

            “What’s going on?” Vera whispered to Polly.

            “It looks like someone’s dead,” she told, observing as another policeman came out from behind the car. “And—there’s a _dog_!” she added through clenched teeth. Their jaws dropped, hearts racing. Maybe they could hide from sight, but not scent, and it wasn’t long before that German shepherd was aware of the monsters’ whereabouts—and the masses of cocaine Polly was carrying.

            “SHIT!” Just like that, Damien was off, and it wasn’t a millisecond later that the others joined him.

            “STOP RIGHT THERE!” the officer yelled after them, shining a flashlight in their direction.

            On command, the dog was racing after them, making them haul ass like never before.

            “Where are we going?!” Liam yelled. _And how is a girl in HEELS running faster than me?!_ He was trying his hardest just not to be last, but it wasn’t going well. The police dog hurdled over the hedges and was just moments from having his ankles.

            “Shut up and RUN!”

            “Hey, doggie! Over heeeere!!!” Miranda sang out, having emerged from the water and running daintily along the edge of the lake. Seeing that she was a much easier catch, the dog veered off to get the straggler, booking towards her with sharp teeth bared. Miranda gave a little scream of fright before jumping back into the water and swimming down as deep as she could, looking up to see the dog’s silhouette at the brim, nose lowered to the water and calculating what to do. And that’s when it happened. The dog gave out a yelp as several turtles locked their jaws onto his feet and face. True, Miranda felt a little bad, but not that bad. After all, no one should pick a fight with the royal family, and a short chat with the turtles had gotten them to agree with her.

            She swam the length of the lake hurriedly and worked to catch up with the others, jumping out once at the end of the water and dashing behind a tree line with them. They looked at her, appalled.

            “I guess you are useful for something…” Damien admitted.

            “Diplomatic measures were taken,” Miranda said happily. “I promised some new tasty fish species for their lake, and—oh!”

            Polly grabbed her arm and yanked her along and they continued. “We’ve gotta keep moving!”

            “But I need to wring out my nightgown first—OW!” Miranda shouted out, her face having smacked right into a tree that Polly pulled her into, having subconsciously phased through it herself.

            “Sorry!” she said quickly, ushering Miranda to keep moving despite her tear-blurred vision.

            “I don’t see why we can’t just burn them all!” Damien argued. “That’d get rid of our problem _and_ be fucking awesome!”

            “We’re getting inconceivably close to the actual city,” Liam said fretfully as he pushed branches out of his way and did his best to avoid wrestling through the undergrowth.

            “Well, that’s just something we’ll deal with when we get…there…” Vera was cut short as they appeared out of the trees and stumbled onto a sidewalk—one that was faintly lit up from all the glowing lights in the area surrounding.

            “We—this can’t—this park is RIGHT next to the heart of the city?!” Liam cried, putting his hands on his head as he prepared to rip his hair out. “That’s preposterous! No city has this much plant life just sitting in the middle of an urban area, stretching all the way to the outskirts of town!”

            “Should we go back?” Miranda asked timidly.

            They looked behind them, certain that they heard yelling through a megaphone and a dog barking in the distance. Did they dare…?

            “Well, both options seem pretty FUCKIN’ SHITTY TO ME!” Damien snarled, ready to kill them all. He knew he shouldn’t have listened to Polly.

            “HEY!” someone shouted at them, making them jump. A _human_.

            Humans weren’t scary. But being on their territory…they were horrifying, always acting as a unified being, a mass mob mentality to exterminate all oddities…all _monsters_.

            It was girl with funky hair, and she was with what they presumed were her two friends, equally as club-ready. They froze as the three approached them.

            “Awesome cosplay,” one of them complimented.

            “C-cosplay?”

            “It’s the act of dressing up as a fictional character,” Liam muttered quietly to those who didn’t know. What a weeaboo.

            “Cosplay?!” Miranda said, insulted. “You dare insult my place a princess? My birthright?!”

            They laughed. “Man, you’re so in-character!”

            “What anime are you from?” the girl asked Liam, scrutinizing him.

            “A-anime?” he stuttered.

            “Yeah—I mean, a vampire ninja? It’s gotta be an anime, right?”

            “Oh man, your animatronics are amazing, these snakes look so real!” another of them said, dazzled with Vera. “Aw, man, and demon-boy, your makeup is on _point_!”

            Damien looked dumbfounded. “Uh…thanks. I actually found the perfect palette for my skin tone recently,” he admitted truthfully.

            “And you must be the villain, right?” they addressed Polly, looking like a burglar.

            “Yup, that’s me!” she replied, winking.

            “Your cosplays are great, but I can’t place where any of you are from…” the human said thoughtfully. “Ohhh, I get it! These must be your OCs!”

            The monsters looked at each other unsurely. What was an OC?

            “Original character,” Liam whispered again. Why he knew this, they wouldn’t question (right now).

            “That’s right, OCs!” Vera confirmed, straining a smile.

            Somehow, they had gotten through that, and the humans bid them a fun night without any suspicion at all.

            “What…what just happened?” Liam asked, clutching his chest while they looked around, humans in every direction.

            “We’re in human town, boo!!!” Polly cheered. “IT’S TIME TO PARTY!!!”

            “NO,” Vera reminded, holding up the radar.

            “Oh yeah…”

            Vera didn’t say anything, but she couldn’t help but notice how terribly they all did in face of disaster. Damien could’ve easily opened a portal to Hell and vanished, Liam could’ve disappeared in a flurry of bats (or whatever he does that vampires do), and Polly could’ve just hidden in a tree. Miranda was the only one who acted with some sense and dove into the water, and Vera…well, her only option to get away _was_ to run. And she was perfectly fine with everyone being too panicked to do anything different.

            “So…where is Oz?” They crowded around to see; although uneasy, they didn’t have much of a reason to be horrified about being discovered anymore, and they were ready to roam the city in search of their mysterious target.

 

 

Oz walked around the human university campus. It was a very pleasant scene, with benches and plants and statues of the school’s historical figures. The clouds were overhanging, blocking any natural light, but the dim lamps around the sidewalks were enough to allow enjoyment of the scenery. He took at look at his golden watch—sometimes he’d count all the hours he’d wait before passing someone, never really traveling any way in particular. It was only about an hour after the late classes were released; surely there were people still lingering, but he’d been able to appreciate his walk of solitude without any hinges so far.

            He hoped that the latest edition of his phobia friends was having a good time so far. “You can be free and socialize with anyone however you like now,” Oz reassured his new buddy, who was excitedly drifting back and forth between his shoulders and was now the center of attention from the others as they welcomed it. “You’re not invisible to the world anymore,” he reassured with a smile. Once he had them, they were no longer just phobias; he gave them personifications, just like him. Any monsters could see them—such peculiarities were common among monsters, but for a human, something like that would be extremely bizarre, and therefore the phobias that Oz had were still not visible to them.

            In his solitude, Oz began thinking of the monster society. With everyone’s mindset, he sometimes felt left behind. Whatever their collective goal was, he wasn’t really concerned with it. They were always moving in a different direction while he stayed to his own plans. Of course, he had friends, and occasionally spent time with them after school. He wasn’t going to deny that he had fun, he very much liked having a personal life. But he liked his privacy as well.

            A sudden thud and rustling sound made Oz stiffen ever so slightly, glimpsing around to see what made such a noise. However, everything was just as still and empty as before. With a shrug, he turned back around stuck his hands in his pockets. Then there was another sound—from the same direction, but with footsteps and voices. Two college boys walked towards him, talking to each other.

            “I was so close to falling asleep during that lecture!”

            “I hear you,” the other replied, shaking his head. Oz noticed he had several phobias jostling around him—perhaps a dozen. Although that kid probably was considered a coward by his friends or perhaps made fun of for being a scaredy-cat, seeing so many together made Oz happy. They weren’t lonely at all, having each other as company and entertainment.

            Oz kept to the other side of the concrete path as they passed, giving the college student’s group of phobias a quick wave from behind them, to which they all danced about cheerily. The other guy, however, had no phobias. That was rather rare, but didn’t stop him from jumping straight off the ground when the other screamed, leaping away from the bushes they were passing.

            “What the hell, man?!” he scowled, pushing him.

            “Sorry! I thought I saw someone—or something…”

            He shook his head. “You’re way too paranoid…”

            Oz kept his eyes on them, peering over his shoulder for a few moments before shrugging to himself and walking on. After passing a few large class buildings, he spotted a student at a bike rack under a street lamp, using a manual pump to try and fill one of her tires with air. She wiped a bit of sweat from her forehead, completing her task as he was getting closer. Then Oz spotted a phobia hanging around her feet—the miserable thing looked shriveled and almost translucent: It was a fear that she was almost completely over, and it was dying. Oz felt a pang in his heart—no one could see the phobia, feel bad for it, empathize with it…. Its life was coming to an end, and it was such an easy phobia to execute…

            Timidly, Oz approached her. “E-excuse me…”

            A tad bit startled, the girl looked up at him. “Oh, hi,” she greeted him unsurely, a tad bit of blush reaching her cheeks. This boy was indeed a charismatic human.

            Oz gave a nervous laugh and scratched the back of his neck. “I was actually walking back to my apartment to get my bicycle pump—I tried wheeling my bike, but with that flat tire I just gave up…. D-do you think you could help me out?”

            “Oh, sure!” she said with a smile, standing up and grabbing the air pump. “Where did you leave your bike?”

            In a tone of embarrassment, he told her, “I actually couldn’t push it any further than the fountain over in the courtyard.” The girl smiled at his weak laugh.

            “Alright, let’s go then,” she said, following him, her phobia hanging wretchedly around her ankles. The college girl cleared her throat apprehensively, cheeks glowing. “So, what are you studying?”

            Studying? Pfft, Oz has had to make up harder things on the spot. “I’m majoring in criminology,” he replied. Why not push it a little further? “With a minor in psychology, specifically phobias.” He cracked himself up, although no one would never know that was the reason behind his smile.

            “Wow,” the girl said, sounding impressed. “What made you decide to go into that field?”

            “Well, crimes themselves are so interesting: How they’re committed, premeditated, how the culprits are caught—how they get away with it,” he explained, the sound of rushing water reaching his ears and chlorine-treated water invading his nostrils. Up ahead the elaborate stone fountain was lit up in the middle of a stone courtyard in the greens. “And don’t you just find the mindset behind crimes fascinating? The things that drive people would surprise you. It’s hard for most people to understand that when someone is in it by themselves, there’s no hand to hold.”

            The girl looked a little confused at his words that seemed to sympathize with criminals. “And what about phobias?” she asked while looking around for the bike as they approached the fountain.

            Of course, there was no bike.

            “Oh, well, you could say…it’s just a hobby of mine,” Oz said with low chuckle.

            He quickly seized her shoulders and forced her forward over the stone barrier of the fountain. The water instantly silenced her yelp of terror as he shoved her under facedown. Her struggling was getting quite annoying, making him furrow his brow, and Oz dragged her farther into the knee-deep pool to prevent her from using the wall as leverage to resurface again. His foot pushed down on her torso, holding her under and, with any luck, pushing any air she had left out of her lungs as he gripped one arm behind her back, his other hand entangled in her hair and shoving her face against the concrete floor of the fountain.

            Oz’s pursed lips upturned in a smile as her thrashing began to get weaker, and her phobia started to manifest more opaqueness, looking up at him with high hopes as the girl’s fear of drowning returned.

            Soon she wouldn’t have to feel that way anymore. His phobia friends danced around excitedly, ready to invite the newcomer once the deed was done. This was much easier than having to break that man’s neck in order to obtain his phobia—for Oz to collect it, he had to finish the job the way the human fears most, and the speed and strength in which it took to snap a neck wasn’t a simple thing to master, not to mention Oz had to do it stealthily, precisely what the man had been afraid of. But this? Simply drowning? It was almost _too_ easy. Poor pathetic humans. They never suspected him of anything with his charming nature and shy disposition.

            Now the attachment to the human was severed as her life fizzled out, and it hurried its way up Oz’s arm from her shoulder. Standing up, he gave it a little pat on the head.

            “I saved you just in time, huh?” It bobbed up and down gratefully, the others swarming around it. “I think you’ll like your new life.” Oz looked down at the girl’s lifeless body before stepping out of the fountain, where the phobias helped him squeeze the water out of his clothes. “Thanks,” he said with a little laugh, then checked his watch. “Looks about time to head home.”

            He pushed his hands into his pockets and quietly hummed a cheery tune as he walked off, satisfied with his night’s work.

            Vera and the others watched him speechlessly from behind the thick hedges against one of the buildings, eyes wide and jaws slack. They tensed up, not daring to make a noise, not even breathing; they were close enough to getting caught earlier while following Oz when Damien tripped into Liam, knocking both of them to the ground. Luckily, while Oz seemed to have heard them, he didn’t pay too much mind to it and they had remained unfound. Now, they were making sure there would be no clumsy incidents as he passed by them. As he did so, a small slip of paper seemed to fall out from one of his pockets, floating down onto the sidewalk. None of them was willing to tempt fate until Oz was out of sight, at which Liam nervously reached a hand out of the bushes and picked it up.

            “I never would have guessed that Oz was such a character,” Miranda said, surprised but apparently the only one otherwise unaffected. Executions happened all the time back in her kingdom.

            “I didn’t think he had it in him,” Damien agreed. He enjoyed a good murder every now and again, but for Oz to be the one committing it made him feel uneasy—and he didn’t know why.

            Then again, one had to keep in mind that Oz was fear itself.

            “It’s a note,” Polly said to them. Even after as much death as she experienced, seeing Oz—such an amiable and mild-mannered person in the midst of murder—made her wonder who was putting on a façade, and to what extent.

            “Well? What does it say?” Vera demanded, very perturbed after what they just witnessed. Yes, monsters killed all the time. She, in fact, killed people all the time in cold blood, and Oz might even make a good henchman. But seeing him in such a manner…and his expression…it was all unexpected and…disturbing.

            “‘ _Thanks for joining me_ ,’” Liam read aloud, a pit forming in his gut. He didn’t understand why, but his hands were trembling and he couldn’t get the scene out of his mind. “‘ _See_ …’” He handed the letter off for someone else to read, no longer feeling comfortable.

            That night, Oz was quite amused by his schoolmates, silently laughing to himself as he walked home.

            “ _See you on a dark night_.”


End file.
